Review: How To Be A Good Wife by Emma Chapman

Summary
Marta and Hector have been married for a long time. Through the good and bad; through raising a son and sending him off to life after university. So long, in fact, that Marta finds it difficult to remember her life before Hector. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife—as advised by a dog-eared manual given to her by Hector’s aloof mother on their wedding day.

But now, something is changing. Small things seem off. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, elapsed moments that she can’t recall. Visions of a blonde girl in the darkness that only Marta can see. Perhaps she is starting to remember—or perhaps her mind is playing tricks on her. As Marta’s visions persist and her reality grows more disjointed, it’s unclear if the danger lies in the world around her, or in Marta herself. The girl is growing more real every day, and she wants something.

Review
Chapman’s debut, How To Be A Good Wife, was one of those books that grabs you from the beginning and leaves you constantly thinking and guessing to decipher its’ spinning and unpredictable plot. In this well written, psychological thriller, her protagonist brilliantly sends the reader on a psychological roller coaster that blurs the distinction between reality and fiction and leaves you filled with unanswered questions and endless emotions.

You know a book is good when you feel something. No matter what that emotion is, if the author can draw something strong out of you, the story is worth reading. The way Chapman wrote this book seemed so simple but was so complex. The plot was so tightly bound together that not only do you want to keep reading but you just can’t stop because there are certain aspects of this book that demand answers to questions that keep lingering throughout your mind. The story I feel centered around three major things: Marta and her husband Hector, her son leaving, and dealing with “her” life. 

I feel the way she wrote her characters were amazing. They were defined and you feel as the book progresses you shift in the way you perceive them as the plot unravels. The heart of the book is definitely the character Marta. Here is an introduction to her: She married young to an older man, Hector. His overbearing mother in law gave her a book on “How To Be a Good Wife but in her mind no one could be as good as her.  According to her husband, he saved her life but has been giving her pills since then. He felt that it has helped her. In the process, he has been giving her information on “her life” by restricting and controlling her environment until one day she decides to stop taking those pills and life was never the same. 

As you get deep in the story, you really feel the depth of despair of that character. These characters leave your emotions spinning because as you read, you will see that you won’t know what to think. It’s one of those books that leave you torn in deciding what to believe. Now, there are some things that I wish could've been explained but that vagueness I think created more suspense and intensity to reading the story. All I am going to say about the ending is that you are not expecting it to happen. Me personally, I anticipated a different ending but how you feel about it will be interpretative based on how you feel once you finish the book. 

I would definitely add this to your to read list. I think this book will be one that people will talk about for a long time.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: 10/15/2013
Pages: 288

Review: Sweet Little Lies by Bianca Sloane

Summary
What would you do if you found out your husband had been unfaithful? Divorce him? Take him back? Kill him?

Mark Monroe becomes the victim of option “C” after his wife, Kelly, discovers evidence of an illicit affair and stabs him to death. In a panic, she flees, deciding she will turn herself in the next day. 

But before she can, Kelly learns devastating secrets about her husband, and starts a frantic mission to unravel the mystery of the man she married and murdered – all while trying to stay one step ahead of a dogged police detective determined to bring her to justice.

Review
The Lifetime Movie Network, has nothing on this book. I haven’t been this excited over a suspense novel in a long time. From the first few pages, you get instantly hooked. When you first read about the premise, I’m sure in your mind you think you know exactly how the story might unfold. There is no amount of predictability that would have foreseen all the twists and turns that came from reading this book. It was just simply, awesome!

This was one of those stories that no matter how fast you hit the forward button, it just wasn't fast enough. It was well written with a fast pace that never lost it edge.  What I love about her book was that every chapter is themed, so you know exactly where you are going. As the plot unravels, you think you know where it is going and then you get thrown by curve balls that send you in a whole different direction. As a reader, there is not one moment when you want to put it down. 

Without giving away too much, here is an introduction to the characters:

Kelly Monroe: She is a former model who currently is running a cosmetic company. She married successful lawyer Mark Monroe. She has the perfect life with the man of her dreams or so she thought. Then comes that moment in a woman’s life where there are some things that might change everything forever. Her discovery of the unthinkable drove her to accidently make a decision that changed both their lives forever. 

Mark Monroe: He is a successful lawyer who married Kelly Ross. He had a rough upbringing but made something of his life. He had the dream life but like many had a something in his past that he wanted to forget. Then one day everything changed. Was he the man Kelly thought he was? 

Geneva: If the characters from Fatal Attraction and Misery were a pair within triplets, than she would be their other sister. Can you say CRAZY? I will let you read to find out why because I don’t want to ruin anything for you.

This book has everything that will glue you to your chair. I’m telling you, once you sit down you won’t get up. You have all the goodies of a really good suspense novel. The only way I can sum this up is to say this was like being on a roller coaster that has no off button. Even the ending was a shocker! If you want a fun read that you can thoroughly enjoy, grab her book.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: 6/19/13
Pages: 278

Review: The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti

Summary 
“Scarlet spends most of her time worrying about other people. Some are her friends, others are practically strangers, and then there are the ones no one even notices. Trying to fix their lives comes naturally to her. And pushing her own needs to the side is part of the deal. 

So when her older sister comes home unexpectedly married and pregnant, Scarlet has a new person to worry about. But all of her good intentions are shattered when the unthinkable happens: She falls for her sister’s husband. For the first time in a long time, Scarlet’s not fixing a problem, she’s at the center of one. And ignoring her feelings doesn’t seem to be an option . . .” 

Review 
It has always been understood that caring for someone was indeed kind and not selfish. Even if the only reasons why you care is because you want that person to care back or appreciate what you did. You always rationalize, “Well, I am doing something nice,” or “At least I had good intentions,” but sometimes it’s cruel to care because you make people think you care, when in truth, you never did. The Six Rules of Maybe is a book about learning the difference between true kindness and true selfishness. That sometimes it’s okay to want for ourselves, because we’re human and that if you’re only being kind to make yourself feel better, then you’re not being kind at all. This book is also about hoping and quitting and learning that quitting isn’t giving up on hope but starting over and taking hope in a new direction. Yet most truly, this book is about learning the differences between bad and good and how some things are really that bad but some things, much as we want to believe, aren’t really that good either. 

Speaking of good and bad things, we have a tale of two sisters, Scarlet the good who cares about others and Juliet the bad who only seems to care about herself. Yet when Juliet suddenly comes home pregnant with a husband, Hayden, Scarlet finds herself thinking about what she wants and not seeming to care about her sister, Juliet. 

However, Scarlet cannot deny who is, a person who cares and forces herself to overly care her neighbor, Clive Weaver, who is suffering from a little depression; and her other neighbor, Fiona Saint George, also known as “Goth Girl,” who seems completely unhappy with her life. She even tries to help out her new brother-in-law with his relationship with Juliet, who doesn’t seem to love him. Yet somewhere deep down Scarlet knows she is being ever helpful in order to cover up the guilt she feels for liking Juliet’s husband, Hayden. 

Still she presses on, denying these notions and starts the “Clive Weaver Project,” where she makes paper cranes out of her mail to put in his mailbox, so he can feel like he’s still getting mail and that someone cares about him. With “Goth Girl,” she just complements her on her good yet disturbing chalk drawings on the Saint George’s driveway; and with Hayden, she waits for him to go outside at night and quietly joins him, offering him a little friendly company. 

Yet even with these “good intentions,” things back fire. The “Clive Weaver Project” gets thrown on a back burner, she ends up setting up Fiona (“Goth Girl”) with a boy who’s explosive in more ways than one and a mistake with Hayden causes her to lose a good friend and possibly a sister. And Scarlet is face to face with the consequences of her “kindness,” wondering why good (kindness, though slightly false) had not triumphed over evil (selfishness and Juliet) and where had it all gone wrong? Thus learning that what she might have hoped for was misguided and that taking a step back from intervening in other’s lives could be the best for her and everyone involved. 

True kindness is not doing something nice for someone else but a desire to see that someone else is happy. That being a little selfish is an act of kindness upon one self, if done right and that hope is a way to get to the happy ending and giving up can simply be a way to redirect one’s hope. Most importantly, The Six Rules of Maybe is simply about using the good and bad within us to the best of our abilities and not just sticking to an idealistic view of good and bad that may not be at all what we had thought. 

Reviewed by Camia Rhodes

Book Information
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication date: 3/16/2010
Pages: 321

Review: Tumbling Stones by Carol Clark Roberts

Summary
Anne Rockford has it all - a handsome husband, a secure marriage, and three wonderful teenage children. But her world tumbles into a nightmare of secrets and lies when she receives a shocking letter: Anne’s husband, a popular and respected professor of Romantic Poetry of the 19th century, has seduced not only her best friend but numerous other young women. In the aftermath of this appalling discovery, lives are lost, reputations are ruined, and Anne’s own life is threatened.

On the coast of California, Anne gathers, tumbles, and polishes beach rocks -- one of her hobbies -- and muses that, like the rocks crashing into each other in the tumbling drum, some people come out of the process of life’s buffeting cracked open by hidden pressures. Others are chipped at the edges, leaving raw surfaces, and still others turn out as clear and lovely as gemstones. Along Anne’s painful journey of discovery and healing -- as she learns the stories of the damaged women and gains unexpected champions -- she encounters all three kinds.

Tumbling Stones is the compelling story of a woman who finds the strength to reclaim her life and her self-worth after a shattering betrayal.

Review
Picture this: You are happily married to a husband that you love who has a wonderful job that is respected professionally and personally. You have a beautiful home with wonderful children and are surrounded by a few close friends that complete your picturesque life. Then one day, you receive a letter from your best friend that says not only has your husband cheated on you with her but with other young women. Not only does this challenge everything that is your current existence but do you believe it or just dismiss it because you “can’t believe” that this person could do that to “you” because you know them.

Tumbling Stones is one of the books that will resonate with any woman who has ever been betrayed by what was perceived as the perfect normal life. When you think you have found your soul mate, only to discover that the person who you thought you knew, really was a stranger. It is very hard depending on your circumstances when you are confronted with the reality that who you love has not only hurt you but your family. For some, there is an easy resolution. For others, there begins a complicated inner struggle that makes choosing the right decision difficult.

Here is a little introduction to the story:

The story involves the marriage of Phil and Anne Rockford. Anne is one of those characters that resembles many women out there. Here is a woman who “gave up her life” to raise a family and become a “professor’s wife.” She is one of those women whose life revolves around her husband and her family. She is everything that could be expected as the ideal wife and mother could be. 

As far as she knew, she had the best life with the most wonderful, virtuous husband and a family that anyone would want. Like so many who lose themselves in their transition become blinded by the ideal life whereas the picturesque may not be the reality. For many, they become the perfect victims to circumstances where the men in their lives betray them because they will never believe anything other than what they see.

When she receives a letter from her best friend Dolores about her husband’s infidelity, it really shatters her. Instantaneously blames her friend for ruining her life but like for so many face the reality of dealing with the emotional roller coaster aftermath. She has to decide for herself what to believe and what to do. Like so many, that choice isn't always that obvious. On her long, introspective journey she battles many emotions that turns her life upside down and faces many truths that should've been told. 

Phil, on the surface, he has it all. He is a well respected and admired Professor at a Christian College. He has the model life with a wonderful wife and family yet internally leads another life that contradicts everything that he appears to be and stand for. He is one of those characters that each layer that is reveals something more about him that will either make you feel sorry for him or completely hate him. Thinking he would never be exposed, just like Pandora’s box, that one secret unleashed a trail of dark secrets that shattered not only the core of his life but affect the lives of everyone around him.

Roberts captured these struggles into a wonderful written story for the reader. The pace of the book was ideal. From the beginning, you really become engaged in this heartbreaking story until the end. As a reader, you really get into the minds of these characters and go through this experience with them. This story that is filled with love, family, loss, deception and redemption not just for oneself but for others is an emotional journey that leads to the triumph of personal healing.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Publication date: 3/12/2013
Pages: 220

Review: Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Summary
“This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They’re even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation. 

Then Jordan dumps Courtney—for a girl he met on the Internet. 

It’s too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney’s heart-broken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la—this is Courtney pretending not to care. 

But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot. 

Turns out, he’s got a secret or two that he’s not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can’t get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other. “

Review
We all would like to believe that everything is black and white and that there is only one side to everything. But as we have all discovered, this is not ever really the case, especially where matters of the heart are concerned. Two Way Street is a book about figuring out that there aren't really any sides and that there are all kinds of shades of gray and maybe even a few more colors into the mix. This book is about learning that sometimes love is not an easy road to travel on and what may seem left sided to you was really right sided, just from where the other person was standing. Also, this book is about seeing things from someone else’s perspective and not just looking at everything from your point of view. Ultimately, this book about not taking things as they appear but opening oneself up to the possibilities. 

Our story begins with the impossible fact that Courtney has to go on a road trip to Boston with her ex-boyfriend Jordan. And to matters worse, not only are her parents forcing her to go but he will be attending the same college as her, so she won’t completely be able to escape the love—former love of her life. How did Courtney end up in this mess? Little does she know, Jordan is in a crisis of his own. 

Yes he did break up with her and yes he told her it was because of a girl he met on MySpace but none of that is true. Jordan still loves Courtney and the MySpace girl is made up (a little spoiler for you all) yet the real drama is the secret he shares with Courtney’s dad, that if he were to tell, could make her hate him more than dumping her for another girl. Jordan is in his own world of trouble that his typical avoid and distance tactics won’t fix. 

Back to Courtney, she decides to not let Jordan get to her. Seeing as how she “hooked-up” or actually just made out with her former crush the night before her road trip with Jordan, she seems to be doing pretty well but looks can be deceiving. After a rest stop and a bad calzone, Courtney spends the next few miles in hell; one because she is throwing up almost non-stop and two, Jordan has to (although he wants to) take care of her. Deciding she is sick, he takes an exit, they get a motel room and spend the night together, wrapped in each other’s arms. 

She loves and misses the feel of his arms around her and then she begins to reminisce about other things she loves and misses about him. One thing that comes to mind is his kisses, and how kisses with Jordan just felt right whereas kisses with Lloyd, the former crush, are not as good and definitely not Jordan. Thus Courtney realizes she’s still in love with Jordan and that maybe Lloyd is not such a good idea and she should skip seeing Lloyd at Middleton altogether. 

Meanwhile, Jordan is taking care of a sick Courtney and doesn’t mind, thus falling deeper in love with her. Now Jordan contemplates whether or not he did the right thing by dumping her and not telling her sooner the secret him and her father share. True, she could be really angry and never speak to him again but his love for her should outweigh all that and push them through the hard times, right? Confused, Jordan still battles with what the right thing is to do.  Clearly love is not an easy road to travel. 

Both love struck teens struggle with what they feel in their hearts and what their minds are telling them they should do. Their hearts say get back together no matter what but the secrets they hide from each other and even from themselves, prevent them from reaching a conclusion. Yet if they could just speak the truth and let love lead the way, they might find themselves somewhere in the middle, together, instead of stuck on opposite sides of things. 

It is true that love conquers all and truths do set one free, but first you have to decide to see situations openly and not compartmentalize into categories of black and white, no grey. Life is an array of colors that blend together all the time, there never really is one shade of anything. And that the roads we travel upon in our colorful lives have many streets and there is more than one way to reach a destination. Simply speaking, Two Way Street is about understanding another person’s feelings and not seeing everything your way. And most importantly, this book is about opening up yourself to all life has to offer, never closing yourself off to anything that may come your way.

Reviewed by Camia Rhodes

Book Information
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication date: 7/9/2013
Pages: 288

Review: What The Body Needs by Laura Oliva

Summary
Jak O'Mara is a survivor.

She's survived in her father's construction company. She's survived in the boxing ring. And she survived the brutal attack that left her permanently scarred.

For the last five years, she's tried to convince everyone -including herself- she's no victim. But with the apparent return of her unknown assailant, the life she's rebuilt crumbles overnight.

Ex-cop Marcus Cutter has his own scars, they just don't show. Following the violent death of his younger sister, he fled his old life in disgrace. After almost six years, "rock-bottom" feels a lot like home.

As Jak's new bodyguard, Marcus is forced to return to the city -and the memories- he's tried to forget. All he wants is to do his job, but Jak isn't what he expects. When he's with her, he finally feels something besides pain.

When the danger escalates, Jak decides it's time to take matters into her own hands. She's determined to find who's after her, no matter the cost. Marcus knows he has to protect the woman who's made his life mean something again. But how do you protect someone who's convinced they have nothing left to lose?

Review
Forget what the body wants, how about what the mind needs. Five words to describe this book was an: uninterrupted, sensual, thrilling, suspenseful romance. Even though a little edgier than her first novel, this was definitely one that at times was so hot that I thought I was going to have to call the fire department because the pages were on fire. With her well written characters and page turning story, this had the goods to not only keep you interested but satisfied your curiosity to want to know more.

Such a wonderful storyteller, she does a great job with giving the reader a story that was easy to read with just the right pace. I think what makes it so appealing is that the characters were raw, real and relatable. It was one of those stories that had an addictive appeal like a prime time soap that kept your curiosity peaked from the beginning until the end. Its various twists and turns keep you guessing with an ending that you never would see coming. For me, at times the romance was a little steamy but for you it might be the right temperature. 

Here is a little about the characters to get you started.

Jak - When you first meet her, she is a bit rough around the edges. Well, don’t judge a book by its cover yet. She has gone through a lot that gives her that tough, rough exterior. Trying to protect herself, she guards herself because a few years back she was brutally attacked. Her attacker was never found. Trying to be tough and take things into her own hands, she receives a message that brings everything back. Not knowing what to do, her family hires a bodyguard to make sure the past doesn't repeat itself. While at first completely resisting any help, she finds herself needing more than just protecting.

Marcus - He was an ex cop who got hired to watch over Jak. Around the same time as her attack, he suffered a tragedy that has plagued his life. Trying to forget the past, he is brought back to the place where everything happened. Taking on this case was just like any other until he met Jak and knew instantaneously that wouldn't be the case. Fighting his own inner battles and ones for Jak, he finds himself feeling more than being her protector. 

Alright, that was a little background about them to get you started but there is so much more to this story that will hook you in and keep you reading. If you love romance with some spice along with suspense with twists and turns to keep you guessing, than you will enjoy reading this book.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Pages: 265